you are correct on the soap to use...no liquids....

as for the kids quilts, it all depends on how fast you can wash it....BUT, fleece is not a friendly fabric...not even to our enviroment!

I use warm and natural batting and fleece as the backing for all of our bed quilts. I just throw them in the washing machine with my regular detergent, and I never prewash my material. I have never had a problem and I have done at least 20 quilts this way. And I only use liquid detergent, I have a front loader, and never have a problem with odors staying. I do have to add that I only hand quilt my quilts. I have never tried them on the machine, so I dont know how that would go. But some of them have been envelope style so I have been sewing the batting, top and fleece thru the machine and it went thru ok, just thick.

Re wool washing, the Hobbs wool package says that machine-washing on gentle cycle is ok. But drying in the dryer not recommended because the dryer heat can cause shrinkage.

I agree - flannel on the back is nice and warm. Another option for batting is wool batting. Hancock Fabrics as well as other stores I am sure carry it.

Will the wool batting shrink when you wash the quilt?

The warmest quilts I've made have Thinsulate batting and anti-pill fleece backing. They are toasty warm and very light-weight. I don't think you can buy Thinsulate batts any more, but Hobbs has a product called Thermore which behaves almost the same way. No shrinkage from either of these, but you have to tell the recipient not to launder with any kind of fabric softener (liquid or sheets).

It really doesn't surprise me to hear this about the liquid vs. powder detergents and the fleece. It's the same for dishwashers - liquids coat the inside mechanisms in ways we cannot see until our dishwasher breaks. My appliance repairman told me to use only powders, preferably Cascade Complete - and not to use much - only 2 Tbls. He was right - it's so much better. Even in the new front-loader I just bought, the instructions say it's best to use powders, but you can use either, and only use 2 Tbls (and if clothes don't look clean, reduce to 1 Tbls). Interesting....nothing to do with warm quilting here, but interesting :)

Living in TX and loving quilts, I can only add that for summer quilts we use a thin poly, and for winter we use cotton, cotton/poly (80/20), or wool. The poly is much cooler than the cotton. So, there you have it, from a 100+ degree state and a woman who has many personal summers ;)

Debbie in Austin
Debbie in Austin

i heard that if you fabric softener it would make the fleece
hav(pills) on it? hope that's the right word!!

The way it was explained to me (by a manufacturer rep from 3M -- thinsulate people) is that those poly fibers are woven in such a way as to use air to insulate. If you use fabric softener, it coats the fibers and they aren't able to expand as needed and won't work for insulation. He said the same applies to fleece. And, cotton towels --- aren't as absorbent when washed w/ fabric softener as without.

Wow ,I never heard anything about using powderd detergent before. This site is just so informative.